As the Spring seedlings take root, I think about the roots that you are establishing - and what around you will support you and keep you steady. Looking at old photos reminds me of my own roots, my own origins - some I have spent a lifetime trying to avoid. They are, however, inescapable - and a gentle acceptance now feels more appropriate than a constant uprooting.

You have so much magic inside you my little bulb. I am so excited to see what you grow into, where your potential takes you. Some of us never know the power inside us, not confident that we have agency and will and impact in the world. But how we learn to have self-belief is shaped by our parent’s ability to be ‘good enough’, rather than perfect. Hmmm. Thats big.

How do we know which choices we make on behalf of our children are the right ones (not the wrong ones)? We don’t. But this letter urges my girls to be kind to me if I make duff choices - and that some of the choices made, however difficult they may be, might be full of life’s lessons and good in the long run. (Fingers crossed).

Oh how difficult it is to justify rest, over and above the nagging demands of the pacey life we live! When rest is enforced due to illness, there is a relief in not needing to justify or explain. And the rest allows for recovery. How sweet it would be if we could just cut to that chase and feel ok about incorporating proper rest into our busy lives.

I finally acknowledge, after 46 years, that to be clear often requires us to clear things out the way - old stories, detritus that no longer serves us, obstacles that hold us up. Making the parallel of tidying a child’s bedroom might be stretching the metaphor - but we all have to learn these habits somewhere!

At this time of year, we seem to go against the concept of growth by cutting back, chopping out and clearing away. It’s time to prune. It can feel painful to let things go or cut things back, but is also a necessary part of the cycle of growth.